


Tough Guys Break Too

by charitysguitar



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:27:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23856847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charitysguitar/pseuds/charitysguitar
Summary: Cain pays Moira a visit.
Relationships: Cain Dingle/Moira Dingle
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Tough Guys Break Too

Deep down, Cain was beyond happy for his brother Sam and his new wife Lydia. He just failed at telling his face that all day. I guess when you’ve just gone through a divorce due to your wife having an affair with the son you never knew you had and your heads in a bit of bad place due it all, you’re not exactly going to be as happy as larry…while everyone was busy fussing over the newly married couple and taking photos he decided it was time to go.

“Hey, Vinny’s buying at the pub. Said we can have whatever we want”, Aaron said as he saw his uncle walking in his and Vinny’s direction. 

“You have mine”. Cain replied as he carried on walking, 

While Aaron knew what Cain was going through he was a little confused as to why he was turning down a drink since he wasn’t the one who had to pay. “What, you not coming? 

“No”. 

Aaron then decided he’d follow him. “Cain it’s your brother’s wedding”.

“No, that...was my brother’s wedding”. Cain said, pointing towards the wedding party. 

“So you’re gonna miss the booze-up? What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing!”. Cain huffed as he walked away. 

The truth is, he’s beginning to regret filing for a divorce, he has been for quite a while but he’s not much of a talker so he’s kept his thoughts and feelings to himself. When he reached his car, he got in and headed in the direction of Butler’s Farm, stopping off at the cafe on his way to get two chocolate cupcakes with extra chocolate frosting and sprinkles, those were Moira’s favourite. 

After a few minutes, Cain got out of his car and headed to the door, knocking. “Moira!”. He called out, getting no response and so he knocked again but was greeted by silence a second time, he still happened to have his key so he used it to let himself in, assuming she was upstairs and that’s why she couldn’t hear him.

Moira had in fact gone to visit Victoria and she’d taken Isaac with her, Cain knew that if he left now, he wouldn’t have the courage to come back again. You see, he paints himself as a ‘hard man’ but he’s actually a big softie, back when things were perfect… or his and Moira’s idea of it at least, before the whole Nate situation, he’d come home with a bunch of flowers if he’d been on a call out or he’d get a bottle in and cook her a nice meal -- though he had made her swear not to tell a soul how much of a softie he could be. 

Tonight is a little different, she may not be his wife anymore but he’s sort of hoping they can actually sit down and have a chat, so he can tell her how he really feels…how much she’s hurt him. He took off his jacket and hung it up then took off his shoes, making himself at home although it wasn’t his home anymore, instead of grabbing a beer from the fridge like he usually would, he took the cupcake out of its box and set it down on the table. It was then that Moira returned home with Isaac who was fast asleep on her shoulder.

“What the hell are you doing here?”. Moira grumbles when she set eyes on her ex-husband. 

Cain rolls his eyes. “I got you these…”. He gestured to the cupcake on the table, he ate his in his car as he was trying to pluck up the courage to get out and knock on the door. 

Moira stares at him. 

“I wanted to talk”. Cain continues, rubbing his forehead as he gets up from his seat at the table and stepping closer to Moira, who stepped back. “I need to put Isaac down and when I come back I want you gone, leave your key on the table”, She tells him, as she heads up to Isaac’s room. 

He doesn’t intend on leaving, not until Moira’s heard him out so while she’s upstairs he makes them both a brew, putting them down on the table before he reclaims his seat at the table. Moira returns to the kitchen. “Still here then?”.   
“Looks like it”. Cain says, reaching for his tea and taking a sip. He sighs, watching as Moira caves and takes a seat. “What do you want, Cain?”. She asks, reaching for a cupcake and taking a few bites as she waits for a response. 

Cain has every intention of telling Moira how he feels but in that moment he can’t seem to get his words out, “You” is all he can manage, Moira can’t help but laugh. 

The look in Cain’s eyes says it all, it’s one Moira has seen a fair few times when he’s at his weakest. Cain puts his mug down, tracing the pattern on his mug with his finger, after a few minutes he gets up and goes to put his shoes on. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have come”. He says weakly. Moira hates how weak she is when it comes to him, she gets up and walks over to him. He tears up and given that he’s not much of a crier, Moira knows she’s really hurt him and it breaks her heart, she moves her hand up to cup his cheek. “I’m sorry”. She tells him softly, wiping his tears, unbeknownst to Cain a few have escaped. 

“If anyone should be apologising it’s me”. 

Moira frowns. “What for?”.

Cain sighs heavily, he’s never been good with his words so he takes a moment before he speaks. “For not being enough”. He replies, moving her hand away from his cheek. 

“Cain, you were more than enough for me… what happened with Nate was just a moment, well a few moments of weakness. My head was all over the place and I just needed someone that wasn’t you”. Moira admits. 

“All my life I’ve had people call me every name under the sun but when I met you I was able to show you that I’m more than just this… thug, that I was in fact just a damaged little boy that had to grow up way too fast”. Cain manages to hold back his tears this time as he heads through to go and sit on the sofa, abandoning his brew on the table, it’d be cold by now anyway. 

Moira follows and sits down beside him, being sure to not say a word.   
“When mum left, I’d pray every night that she’d come back for me and Chas…”. Cain tells Moira who reaches for his and to hold and she does so, tightly. “And when Shadrach laid into me, part of me felt like I deserved it ‘cause I had a right gob on me”. 

“You still do”. Moira pipes up with a soft chuckle, nudging Cain a little but she’s quick to add, “Sorry, now isn’t the time for jokes”.

Cain looks down at their hands, the strength he was using to hold back his tears seems to disappear and he just lets them go, not caring for one second that he’s letting Moira see this side of him. He grew up in a household with an alcoholic who’d knock seven bells out of his mother and it was also a ‘boys don’t cry’ household so that’s when he built a wall and it would take years before he allowed someone to knock it down, Moira was that someone and then she went and broke his heart into a million pieces. 

He isn’t too sure if it could ever completely be fixed but what he does know is that while everyone and their mother would agree that him being this way with Moira for the last few months or so is somewhat justified, he can’t and won’t allow Kyle and Isaac to witness him speaking of or to her in the horrible ways he has any longer. 

“I honestly didn’t think I’d ever make it to my eighteenth birthday it was that bad most night, more often than not it was for absolutely nothing so I started messin’ about to give him a reason and to stop him going anywhere near Chas, looking back now I don’t ever believe he would’ve as she was his own flesh and blood but neither of us had no idea that I wasn’t so I couldn’t take the risk... ”. 

Moira clears her throat as she tries to find the right words. 

Before she even has the chance to speak, Cain sniffles, “People often forget one thing…”, as he lifts his head to look Moira in the eyes, who’s got no idea how she’s managed to hold herself together while Cain’s been crying, knowing that she is the main cause of it. She frowns a little and softly asks “What’s that?”

“Sometimes…”. Cain wipes his tears. “tough guys break too”.


End file.
